fitzhugh



B. G. FITZHUGH.

Safety Bridgefor Railroad Cars. "N0. 79,646. Patented July 7, 1868.

B- G. FITZHUGH, OF ELLLCOTT CITY, 'MARYLAND.

Letters Patent No. 79,646, dated July 7, 1868.

IMPROVED GAR-PLATFORM BRIDGE.

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Be it known that I, B. G. FITZHUGII, of Ellicott City, in the county of Howard, and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Bridges for the Platforms of Railroad-Oars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 represents in perspective the platforms of two cars bridged according to my plan.

Figure 2 represents a modification of the bridge-piece.

Many attempts have been made, and many patents granted, for appliances of the kind mentioned, but they fail to go into general use on account of their expense or the difficulty of applying them, or both, whilst any attachment to railroad-cars, to be available and practical, must be cheap, easily placed and removed, andeflicient when in use.

My invention consists inia simple board or metal plate, or parts of each, slightly elevated abovethe plat.-..

forms by end-supports, and lying upon and extending from one platform of a car to the other next to it, and secured in place by pin and slot, or by a chain or other device that will allow the cars to have their free play, and still bridge the space between them.

To enable others skilled in the art'to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings. I A B represent the platforms of two cars, and G is the bridge, lying upon said platforms, and extending from oneto the other. The bridge is held in place, but at the same time allows'the cars their usual horizontal motion by slots at a, through which the coupling or any other bolt may pass, or, as shown in fig. 2, the slot a may extend nearly through the bridge, or one slot only, at one end, may be used, and the other end of the bridge may lie upon the platform; or the bridge may be held in place, without cramping or binding the ends of the cars, by a chain or strap at one or both of its ends. So that the connection is flexible or yielding, is all that is necessary The bridge may be made of a piece of board or plank, or bound or strengthened with metal, or it may be a metal plate entire. A piece of plank answers every purpose. But it is absolutely necessary that this plank or bridge should touch the platforms, and be supported thereon, only byits extreme ends, otherwise the inequalities of the height of the platforms, owing to the. undulations of the track, would throw up one end or the other of the bridge, and trip the person attempting to step upon it. A simple rib, slat, projection, or flange on both of the ends of the bridge, answers the purpose, as it leaves a space underneath the bridge that the edges of the platforms do not rise through, and consequently these edges do not strike or raise up the bridge, as they would i do if the bridge were not thus elevated above them.

Straps, chains, or slotted strips or pieces of wood may also extend from the railing b of one platform to that of the other, as shown at c, which makes the passage from one car to another, whilst in motion, entirely safe. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isl i A safety-bridge for the platforms of railroad-cars, which is made of a plank or board, or of a single piece of metal, and which is supported on and elevated by its ends slightly above the platforms, and united thereto 'at one or both ends by a flexible or yielding connection, that will prevent it from slipping oii endwise. substantially as and for the purpose described.

. B. G. FITZHUGH. Witnesses: i

A B. Sroncnrox, Eon. F- Bnown. 

